


Sawamura Daichi Does Not Get Love Confessions

by melliejellie



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Confused pining, DaichiLoveFest2020, First Kiss, Fluff, Love Confessions, Love Letters, M/M, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:54:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22727224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melliejellie/pseuds/melliejellie
Summary: Right after graduation, Tsukishima surprises Daichi with a confession (seemingly) out of nowhere. It catches him off guard and he's going to need some time to process why he can't just let him down kindly. What is it that keeps making him think about Tsukishima?Written for Daichi Love Fest!Day 1: first confessionDay 2: can't help falling in love + first kissDay 3: valentine's letters
Relationships: Sawamura Daichi/Tsukishima Kei
Comments: 58
Kudos: 167
Collections: Daichi Love Fest





	1. first confession

**Author's Note:**

> Day 1 prompt: first confession

Daichi prides himself on being able to read his team. If something’s off, he knows about it right away and he typically knows a good (if not always the best) way to deal with it.

It comes with being part of a big family. Growing up he needed to know right away if the situation was “let’s play” or “I’m about to blame something on you that isn’t your fault, but if I’m going down, I’m taking you down with me.”

He’s had years of practice with most of the team and even the very odd first years have been more or less figured out - except one--

\--who’s been acting even stranger lately.

While he originally thought Tsukishima was standoffish and sarcastic at best, rude and condescending at worst, the past year has showed him a lot more sides to the lanky first year. He’s grown as a player, certainly, but even more as a person. And that’s what Daichi really likes to see as a teammate and especially as a captain - personal growth. Tsukishima’s opened up and, dare he say it, made friends (or at least gotten friendly enough) with the team.

So it surprises him when Tsukishima retreats into some of his old habits. Daichi knows Nationals are over. That graduation is looming. He thinks he’s got the source of the recent withdrawl pegged. Maybe Tsukishima doesn’t deal well with change and there’s certainly a lot of changes on the horizon.

The team is loitering outside of Ukai’s shop, warming their hands with steamed buns while their breaths puff out into the cold, evening air. Suga’s been passing out extras to whichever of his kouhai promise to keep in touch when he’s away at college. Most of the group’s been wrapped in to a competition with their silver-haired senpai over who can get the most free food by coming up with the most Suga-approved method of keeping in touch (ranging from scheduled text messages to well-trained carrier pigeons) when Daichi slides up alongside Tsukishima who’s standing off by himself.

“You doing alright?” He asks simply, already knowing he won’t get an answer.

Tsukishima shrugs, but Daichi catches the way he tenses and subtly moves away.

Daichi’s not sure what to make of that move. Clearly something’s bothering him, but normally Tsukishima leans in to the whole “not bothered” persona. Tensing and shifting away doesn’t quite fit that. It must run a bit deeper than he originally thought.

“Okay, just checking in.” He says simply, looking out into the dark streets outside the shop. “I might not be your Captain for much longer but I’ll always worry.” He sticks out an elbow to playfully jut into his side, but Tsukishima quickly steps out of the way.

“That’s dumb, you don’t need to--” Daichi watches the way Tsukishima’s face contorts in the streetlight from his usual snarky grin to something softer, more open. Now Daichi’s actually worried.

Tsukishima seems to stand up straighter, squaring his shoulders, then he flips his body and turns to face Daichi, his eyes glancing down. “Daichi, I--”

“ME-AT BU-UNS. EAT, TSUKISHIMA!” Hinata bounces in, shoving another bun into Tsukishima’s chest, the moment well and truly broken, whatever it was.

***

Daichi doesn’t get another chance to follow-up until the graduation party his parents throw at his house. There are way too many people shoved into their cozy home, so much so that they’re spilling out into the yard despite the cold weather. His mother keeps holding her face between his hands and proclaiming that she gets to celebrate this much because “my oldest son doesn’t graduate from high school as a National-level athlete everyday!” The whole place is crowded and fun, so it’s easy to figure out where Tsukishima might be.

Outside his house, rounding the corner, he finds Tsukishima taking a moment to himself. He’s not even doing anything, just leaning up against the frame of the house, his eyes closed, breathing softly. Daichi almost doesn’t want to startle him. He considers backing away quietly and leaving him be, but then he slips on a patch of ice that hasn’t quite melted away fully and makes a terribly embarrassing guttural sound before he rights himself and stands up again.

Tsukishima’s eyes snap open, narrow, and cast a side-glance in his direction. The moment Tsukishima seems to register who it is, his eyes open wider and he snaps his gaze forward and away from Daichi as quickly as possible.

Whatever it is, Daichi thinks, he’s going to get to the bottom of it. “The party’s inside,” he says, opening himself up for whatever snide remark Tsukishima wants to say back. He anticipates it.

“That’s why I’m out here.”

Still sure it has to do something with the third years leaving, him starting his second year, Daichi presses - “Could just go home. Unless you don’t want to yet.”

Tsukishima turns to face him, his brows furrowed slightly. His mouth opens, then closes up tight once again as he looks away. “I’ll go back inside eventually.”

“Or you could hang out here for a bit with me.”

Beside him in the otherwise quiet night, the din of the party noise behind them, he swears he hears Tsukishima breathe in sharply. Daichi feels like he’s getting somewhere. Maybe Tsukishima will open up. He’s seen it every now and then when they’re playing, but never about life situations. He wants to be there for everyone on his team. Tsukishima is no exception.

“It’s your party. Don’t you want to, you know, be a part of it?”

“I will be. Doesn’t hurt to take a breather every now and then. Plus my aunts are getting along far too well with Suga and I’m worried about the consequences of that.” He chuckles and Tsukishima puffs out a soft laugh beside him but otherwise says nothing.

Daichi lets the silent moment sit, knowing that Tsukishima’s thinking and processing time is always longer with anything that’s not mid-game snap decisions based on cleverly collected data. Patiently, he waits until he feels like the moment is right.

“So do you want to talk about it?”

“What?” Tsukishima’s reply is instant and he sounds - no, can’t be - worried.

“Just whatever’s been bothering you. You’ve been really quiet lately.”

“I’m always quiet.”

“No, you’re always shrewdly choosing your words, saving them for when you can toss a barb at Hinata or Kageyama’s direction.”

“You’re not wrong.”

“But what’s up?” He waits a beat before adding, “Can I guess?”

Tsukishima’s still not looking at him. “Suit yourself.”

“Is it,” he hums like he’s thinking, but he’s already prepared what he wants to say, “that you’re starting your second year and you’re nervous about that?”

“No,” Tsukishima scoffs.

“Well then, I hope it’s not something worse, honestly, because my only other guess is that it’s something to do with the third years graduating and leaving the team, well, different.”

“In a way,” is his only response.

Feeling like he’s on the right track gives Daichi a little more pep in his speech. “I know that can be hard. We’ve bonded a lot as a team and it’s going to be weird moving on.”

And he swears he hears it again, Tsukishima’s breath catching. Only this time, he was watching the contours of his face and he saw the changes in his features, so he definitely knows it happened.

“It’s okay to be a little sentimental,” Daichi smiles, even though Tsukishima’s not looking.

“That’s not all of it,” Tsukishima says, voice suddenly firm and resolute. Daichi watches him take a deep breath, his chest rising and falling under the layers of a thick coat. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a folded piece of paper. It’s stayed surprisingly neat considering its journey in a puffy coat pocket. Instinctively, Daichi reaches for it, but Tsukishima snaps it back, holding it close to his side.

Now Tsukishima turns to look at him again. His expression is full of an emotion Daichi can’t read, probably because he’s never seen Tsukishima look like this before. It’s close to how he looked right after a time-out during Nationals when he was weary but ready, but there’s an edge to it he can’t figure out but it has his stomach twisted in a weird way.

“I’m not sad the third years are leaving. I’m sad you’re leaving. I like you, Sawamura Daichi.” He takes a second to let the words land, his eyes staring so intensely Daichi can feel them on his skin, then he’s stuffing the folded paper into Daichi’s hands and walking briskly back into the house.

Daichi takes a minute - or five - to collect himself.

Tsukishima’s not there when he goes back inside.

***

He waits until the party’s died down and guests have gone home to retire to his corner of his shared bedroom to read it by the light of his phone screen.

Much like everything Tsukishima says, the letter gets straight to the point. No wasted words.

_I have spent the past year trying to figure out my feelings towards you. What began as admiration for your leadership has slowly grown into something else. I spoke with Sugawara-san about it and he insisted that telling you would be for the best._

_I am not certain about that, but I am certain about what I feel towards you._

_I like you as more than a teammate, a captain, a friend. I care about you deeply._

_Please know that I do not expect a response soon, if ever. You can do what you wish with this knowledge. Whether you choose to acknowledge it or ignore it is up to you. My feelings will not change either way._

He lies in bed and stares at the dark ceiling for so long his eyes get dry. 

None of this makes sense. Not the letter in his hand. Not the pinch in his stomach.

Sawamura Daichi does not get love confessions.


	2. can't help falling in love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 2: Can't help falling in love + first kiss

The first week after graduation, Daichi is a coward. He had already planned on spending most of the time with Suga, Asahi, and Kiyoko before they all went their - temporarily - separate ways, but he purposefully avoided any activity where the first, now second, years might be.

The second week, Asahi left for Tokyo to get settled in his new apartment before the new term started. Kiyoko quickly followed behind. There was one final Karasuno hang out before they left and Daichi kept away from any one-on-one situations with Tsukishima, but more than once the tall blond caught him staring.

The third week, Daichi spends as much time as he can with Suga. He’s not leaving the prefecture, but his university is farther away, too far to live at home and commute. When he leaves, it’s with a sad finality and Daichi hates how he feels left behind.

His university is close. He’ll live at home until he can afford a place of his own and finally stop sharing a room with his brother. As much as he adores his family and doesn’t ever want to go too far, he’s more than ready for a place of his own.

His program is short. His path is clear. He’ll study criminal justice and take the police academy exam and probably wind up being an officer not far from where he grew up. It’s exactly what he wants, but with three of his best friends gone, he’s left wondering what could have been.

Karasuno starts the new year before his university does. The nostalgic part of him wants to pop in to the gym after school to see if the new third and second years need help, but he knows that’s not what’s best. He keeps his eyes on what’s ahead.

But he thinks about the letter every single day.

The fourth week after graduation, he cracks. The guilt of not saying anything to Tsukishima is starting to weigh on him and, combined with the stress of starting university, it’s messing with his sleep. He texts Tsukishima in the middle of the day, knowing he’ll be in class and unable to answer for a while, and he writes approximately a hundred versions of it before finally gathering the nerve to press send.

<< I have read your letter. Thank you for sharing that with me. However I don’t have an answer yet.

Daichi knows it sounds too formal and forced but he’s really not sure what other tone he could strike. Too casual and it might sound like he’s not giving it enough thought. Too warm and it might give Tsukishima the wrong idea. But honestly, at this point, not even he knows what the "right idea" might be.

He compulsively checks his phone all evening. There’s no reply. Only a little check mark beside his message letting him know it’s been read.

Somehow that’s worse.

***

The week before his classes start, Daichi decides to hang out with the rest of the volleyball team again. Maybe it’s a little bit of loneliness setting in after scrolling through all of his friends’ instagram feeds of their new apartments. Maybe it’s nostalgia for something that’s about to be over for good. Or maybe it’s the fact that his little brothers and sisters are driving him insane and he needs an excuse to get out of the house.

Either way, he finds himself at a park on the weekend, eating way too much convenience store comfort foods and tossing around volleyballs. Tsukishima shows up late, but he’s there. Daichi expects some sort of strangeness, those same withdrawn tendencies he saw over the past few weeks. Instead, Tsukishima seems entirely back to normal. When he’s not scrunching up his face in disgust and commenting on whatever Hinata or Kageyama are doing, then he’s chatting with Yamaguchi and laughing that slightly mean but still happy laugh of his. (He’s also occasionally darting away from Noya who’s adamant that he could use Tsukishima’s height to springboard into a ridiculously high jump.)

When the two of them do talk, it’s as a part of the group, the big Karasuno volleyball family, and nothing’s out of the ordinary at all.

If Daichi didn’t have that letter tucked between the pages of a book on his shelf, he’d almost swear he imagined the whole thing.

***

His first term at university begins and he loses himself in the excitement of a fresh start. Of course there’s parts of his high school experience that he misses, but there’s new classes, new people, and he realizes he can be whoever he wants to be there. No one there knows Sawamura Daichi. He can create a whole new version of himself.

Turns out that entirely new version is exactly like the old Daichi, only this one tries wearing a leather jacket (it doesn’t work, not really, but Suga likes it and borrows it all the time). He even tries out for the volleyball team and earns a spot, though not as a starter. It keeps him busy, as do all of his classes. His commute between school and home leaves him exhausted all the time, too.

Every night, he goes home and sleeps in his same bed and still shares a room (he’s got to get on that whole part time job thing so he can get out of there), but he doesn’t feel that strong pull to return to Karasuno like he thought he might. New things are exciting in a way he hadn't expected. Daichi likes his routines, he likes feeling comfortable around people he knows well, but shaking things up has brought out some new sides of his personality.

He makes new friends. He visits Suga at his university (often, it’s good to get away) and makes it down to Tokyo to see Asahi and Kiyoko (he’s only a little bit jealous, and that jealousy wears off the moment he’s smashed between people so tight on a Tokyo train that his feet lift off the ground). He goes to parties. He even goes on a few dates. Very few. They still make him really sweaty, just like those few dates did in high school, and he decides that he’s just going to tell himself that he doesn’t have time for dating right now.

His connection to Karasuno is mostly through texts with Ennoshita who reaches out to him for captain advice. Daichi likes that the giant group chat has significantly slowed down and that this is his only real tie to Karasuno. He’s seeing what else there is for him in the world and he doesn’t want to be That Guy that always shows up at his old high school, clinging to what was.

But he does enjoy the pictures and they always make something warm and fond well up in his chest.

And there’s a decidedly weird pinch in his gut whenever Ennoshita brings up Tsukishima, especially when he hears how Tsukishima has been oddly good with the new first years. Turns out he and Hinata are a great pair. Hinata builds them up with unending confidence and Tsukishima humbles them so they’ll still be open to feedback.

Daichi can picture it and kind of wishes he was there.

Though whenever that happens, Daichi can go workout at the university gym or go to the library and tackle the hoards of homework that’s already piling up.

***

Daichi’s not exactly sure why he thinks of Tsukishima the moment he sees a dinosaur cake in a bakery window, but he does.

He knows Tsukishima likes dinosaurs. It’s something the rest of the team teased him about once they saw his strangely adorable pencil case (which Tsukishima was entirely unashamed of).

But his body moves before his brain can stop him and he’s snapping a picture and opening up a message chain that hadn’t seen anything since his last message to Tsukishima over a month ago.

He sees his own overly-formal message staring back at him and a few messages above it all about practice times, and he wonders if there were any signs along the way that Tsukishima even liked him like that. It came out of nowhere. Daichi tells himself that’s why he was so caught off-guard, why he’s been unable to think of the right way to tell Tsukishima something more difinitive. Not a yes, but, not a no either.

He sends the picture.

Tsukishima>> Strawberry’s better, but I’d take it.

<< Who doesn’t like chocolate?!

Tsukishima>> I never said I didn’t like it. Simply, strawberry is a better flavor. That’s a fact.

<< What if I said I liked vanilla best?

Tsukishima>> That sounds like you.

He grins at the text, then keeps the conversation going.

After that afternoon, he sends Tsukishima a quick note every couple of days.

Tsukishima always replies.

***

When summer holiday hits, Daichi feels wrung out and dead on his feet. He crawls through his first set of college exams and stumbles out into the hot, humid air that smells like freedom. 

Only he’s barely free because Suga has plans for them while he’s home. Everyday plans. Because apparently they need to “catch up on TV, movies, and everything else we didn’t get to do together!” Daichi reminds his best friend that they’ve seen each other at least twice a month, but even as he says it, he agrees with Suga that it’s not enough.

It’s also Suga’s idea to go watch one of Karasuno’s practice matches.

It’s the first time he’s set foot in the gym since he was a student here and the hot, trapped stench of old wood and sweaty bodies hits him like an old friend. It’s a friendly, but filled with growing rivalry, match between Dateko and Karasuno and, while Suga holds signs and screams like a crazed fan (until Takeda kindly asks him to let his kouhai focus), Daichi watches his old team and marvels at how much they’ve changed.

They’re rough around the edges, to be sure. The first years haven’t quite found their niche yet, clearly, but Hinata and Kageyama are something to behold, and even Tanaka has a aura of calm focus that he didn’t seem to possess before. It’s clear they’re still figuring out how to come together as a team under the new arrangement, but it’s also clear that they’ve discovered some strengths they didn’t have before.

And if his eyes follow a certain blond middle blocker who has, somewhere along the line, learned how to jump with far more power, than it’s simply because he’s impressed at how much progress he’s made in a short amount of time.

It certainly has nothing to do with the fact that seeing him makes him panic about where the letter is hidden and makes him wonder if it’s still tucked away on his bookshelf or if he left it out when he brought it out last night to read over the now very familiar words.

The team hangs out afterwards but, again, Tsukishima doesn’t seek him out specifically. They talk and laugh as a group, as the family they were, and still, are. Daichi asks each of the now-second years about how they’re doing. Yamaguchi is thrilled to talk about his serves, just like Hinata is as enthusiastic as ever when he describes his new “moves” that Noya has named for him. Kageyama is, well, comfortingly still Kageyama, too. And Tsukishima answers him tersely, commenting on the increase in his classwork and lamenting over the loudness of the incoming first years. Then, their conversation's over and it's back to the group as a whole.

Daichi's not sure what he expected, but they've been messaging each other once or twice a week, he thought maybe something would have shifted, but no, it's all very familiar, every bit the way it might have been before the night he got that letter.

That night he texts him a picture he took during the game.

<< Getting way more height than you used to, huh?

He knows it’s stiff and sounds a bit forced. He wants to say something else, to talk about the elephant in the room, to scream “I’m sorry I didn’t answer you properly! I feel really weird about the whole thing!” Because he wonders if that's why Tsukishima is keeping him at arm's length again. But those words aren’t happening right now.

The reply takes a while, but he’s grateful when it comes.

Tsukishima>> Some things come easy when you’re at least a head taller than anyone else.

<< Glad you’re using your height for good, at least.

He sends it and shuts off his light, ready to end a day of overthinking. He doesn’t read Tsukishima’s reply until the morning.

Tsukishima>> That’s what you think.

***

As summer fades and mercifully relents as fall takes over, Daichi finds himself sending a picture of a funny meme to Tsukishima a few times a week. Tsukishima replies and the conversation will go back and forth in an almost comfortable sort of way now, but Daichi would be blind not to notice that Tsukishima never texts him first.

Not until he’s staring at his phone in class one afternoon and he reads:

Tsukishima>> Suga keeps sending us pictures of you playing with your new team. You look like you’re having fun.

His fingers drum on the tiny desk, completely oblivious to what’s being said at the front of the room as he searches for a response. He lands on:

<< Ugh, hope they’re not too awkward. Haha.

He groans softly to himself, running his fingers through is hair. Why is it that every time he sends Tsukishima a message he sounds like a fake copy of himself? Like he’s saying it in some overly cheerful voice that Tsukishima can absolutely see right through.

Tsukishima>> Don’t worry. They are.

The conversation ends after a few more rounds of short, clever remarks, but Daichi can’t shake the fact that it’s the first time Tsukishima started a conversation with him.

It takes him a few days, but he works up some of the courage that he seems to have in spades for everything else in his life besides romance. It’s time to remember that he’s Sawamura-freaking-Daichi and that when he has a problem he handles it and he handles it well, with a crazy face if needed (though probably not needed in this situation).

Plus, he has a very soft blanket on top of him in bed right now and that really does help the situation.

<< It was good seeing you this summer.  
<< I apologize for not ever giving you a proper reply.

He doesn’t want to make excuses for himself, but he feels like he has to explain something at this point.

<< Your letter caught me by surprise and I acted poorly. I’m sorry.

Daichi watches the screen and his breath catches when the “...” of an incoming message pop up instantly. He holds his breath.

Tsukishima>> You don’t need to apologize. I made it clear that they were my feelings and that I did not expect anything in response.

Daichi runs through several replies in his head, writing and rewriting them and trying to strike the right tone, showing Tsukishima that he does feel bad, but that he absolutely can’t bring himself to say “yes, I feel the same” but he also can’t say “no, your feelings aren’t returned” and that it’s the single most confusing thing in his life that he’s been all too happy to ignore -- he shakes his head to stop his thoughts from spinning.

He starts to type.

Tsukishima beats him to it.

Tsukishima>> Though, my feelings towards you remain the same.

<< Thank you.

Even as he sends the text, he hates it, burying his head into his pillows and sighing so loudly that his little sister runs in to check on him.

So he does the unthinkable. He tells Suga everything that's been going on.

Suga>> EXCUSE ME. WHAT? WHAT? WHAAAAAAAAT?  
Suga>> AND YOU’RE JUST NOW TELLING ME? HOW DARE YOU!

<< He told me he talked to you about it.

Suga>> He told me he liked someone on the team. I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS YOU!

His phone rings. He picks up expecting to hear more screaming on the other end, but instead Suga’s voice is steady.

“First of all, that’s one of the cutest things I’ve ever heard. Second of all--”

What follows can only be described as Suga’s whole ever-evolving personal philosophy on love and sex. It’s a lot of personal anecdotes about some things that, well, Daichi could have done without hearing about, and the other half is some oddly sage advice about open communication.

“--basically, you should talk to him about the whole thing or, at the very least, give him an answer one way or the other.”

“I know,” Daichi whines, already fully understanding that’s what he should have done months ago, but now he’s taken too long and made everything weird.

“So--”

“So, what?”

“What’s your answer going to be, you big idiot?” Suga laughs hard on the other end and, even with the insult, Daichi wishes this conversation was happening in person because he really misses his friend.

“It’s not a ‘yes,’” he starts, already cringing at what’s about to leave his mouth, “but it’s not an outright ‘no’ either.”

“Wait, so do you actually like Tsukishima?”

Daichi’s mind races back to that night at his graduation party where he watched Tsukishima admit something so deeply personal with the faint light of the party tracing his features, looking down at him with an intense stare that was intimidating but vulnerable at the same time. And while he’s done an excellent job of shoving it all deep down by keeping himself busy, there is something there that makes him think of Tsukishima when he’s walking around campus, something that makes him send silly messages, something that makes him re-read that letter every once in a while.

“No! Well, as a teammate, of course. As a friend, sure. As more? I don’t know yet. I can't seem to shake it off.”

“Holy crap, Dai, I’ve gotta break out a whole other life-talk now because this conversation took an unforeseen turn.”

***

Time passes quickly when he’s back into the swing of his semester. There’s his part-time job, volleyball practice, the whole fact that he’s drowning in textbook reading assignments so long that no one could possibly ever read them in that short of a time period (it’s like they’re begging him to lie!), plus he is trying to maintain a social life with his new friends.

So, he’s busy and it keeps his mind busy, which is good.

He keeps texting Tsukishima, though. It’s almost daily now. And now Tsukishima is sending him quick messages throughout the day. It’s weirdly nice to know that he’s still on Tsukishima’s mind. Like, yes, of course, it still makes him sweaty, confused, and still a bit guilty, but it’s somehow, also, a little bit nice.

Tsukishima>> I wish you were here to yell at Hinata and Kageyama.  
Tsukishima>> I tried to make your scary face, but I’ve been told my face just look means, not scary yet commanding like yours.

Daichi stares at that selfie Tsukishima sent for far longer than he would ever admit. It made him laugh and cheered him up on a particularly stressful day.

And when fall gently gives way to winter, talking to Tsukishima has become a part of his routine. He likes hearing about how he’s doing with the team, but he also asks Tsukishima about classwork and helps him out when he can (though Tsukishima swears he never needs it).

But he doesn’t see him again in-person until his winter break.

They’ve been talking about a movie that neither of them have managed to make time to go see and Daichi finds an ounce of bravery and goes for it - though what “it” is, he’s still not ready to label.

<< Do you want to go see it together? I think this weekend is its last run in theaters.

Tsukishima>> Sure, but can we go to the matinee? Cheaper is better.

***

From the second he sees Tsukishima propped up against the side of the theater, bundled up adorably in far too many layers for the cold, but sunny weather, Daichi doesn’t know anything except that every part of him is confused. His heart is beating like crazy and when he says hello his voice cracks, of all horrible things, and he goes in for a high five (a high five?!) like some sort of dork. And the whole time Tsukishima is just smirking, taking him in with an amused look on his face.

During the previews, Tsukishima makes cutting comments about each one. With some, the book is definitely better. With others, he rolls his eyes and wonders how “things like that even get made.”

“But you wanted to see a movie with giant robots?” Daichi asks, quirking up an eyebrow and glancing at Tsukishima’s profile.

He turns, clicking his tongue. “This is different. I know what I’m paying for. There’s no plot to ruin because they’re very up front about the fact that the plot is not why we’re here.”

“No arguing with that.”

With a smug sense of satisfaction written on his face, Tsukishima turns back to the screen, and Daichi notes that even in just a few months, the sharp lines of his features have grown more defined. Though, that could just be the lighting.

When it’s over, Daichi’s relieved that he managed to stop being so sweaty. Turns out giant robots are a great remedy for the guilt that’s been sitting on his shoulders, but with every step outside of the theater, he feels a strange mix of feelings return. As they leave, they chat about the movie, but Daichi knows the stiffness in his voice is returned and that, judging by the look on his face, Tsukishima can tell.

Daichi doesn’t explain what’s on his mind until he’s sure that they’ve walked far enough away from the busy theater to have a little space around them. They’re still walking, both on their way back to the train station, when Daichi finally pushes out the words he’s been tossing around in his head since Suga spoke to him about the whole situation.

“Thanks for hanging out today. I was worried I would make you uncomfortable.” He turns to glance at Tsukishima.

Tsukishima stares straight ahead, his voice muffled by the scarf tied around his neck. “Being around you doesn’t make me uncomfortable.”

“Oh, oh well that’s good. It’s just that,” Daichi starts, knowing where he wants this conversation to go but not knowing if he’ll be able to find the right words. “I know how you feel, but that’s not fair because I haven’t said anything one way or the other for months now and I don’t want you to feel like I’m stringing you along because --”

“I don’t.” Tsukishima stops walking.

Daichi stumbles over his next step. His head spins. “What?”

“I don’t feel like you’re stringing me along.” Tsukishima is staring at him, his eyes flickering with something rich and alive even as his jaw is set and his features are serious.

In times like these, Daichi wonders where his confidence goes. He can give a mid-game speech like nobody’s business. He can give a presentation in front of a lecture hall. He can crush a job interview. But the way Tsukishima is looking at him makes his palms sweat and his breath shaky. “But I don’t want you to put off - I don’t know - like, seeing other people.”

For all his nervousness, Tsukishima doesn’t seem to have a shred of any. “I don’t care about other people like that.” For a moment, the determined expression shifts and a tiny smile appears at the corner of his mouth. “You’re one of the few people in this world I don’t actively root against.”

Oh, he’s seen Tsukishima smile before, but it’s never been directed at him, solely him. It’s hard to find his voice and he’s not sure he’s blinked in a while. “Well, I owe you something.”

“I promise, you don’t.”

“I do. And while it’s not an outright return of, well, everything you’ve shared with me, I do care about you, too. So, it’s not a ‘no’ either. I’m sorry, that’s the lamest answer ever.”

“It’s fine. It’s a very you answer. Always thoughtful.”

And that’s the opposite of everything Daichi feels like he’s been lately, and his confusion must show because Tsukishima adds, “Don’t worry so much. I liked going to the movies with you.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“About liking a movie?”

“No,” and he knows that Tsukishima is just playing dumb to pull it out of him, it’s written clear as day across his face, “how can you be so sure about how you feel about… me?”

“I know I can be apathetic about a lot of things, but once I make a decision to care, I’m committed. I pick the things that are important to me very carefully. And you, Daichi, are important to me.”

Daichi gets that same stirring in his chest that he gets whenever he sees a new text from Tsukishima, only now, with Tsukishima looking at him like he did all those months ago, Daichi does feel truly important and there’s something happy and warm bubbling up inside of him.

***

That night Daichi calls and asks Suga, “how do you know if you like somebody?”

Before his best friend interjects with another round of half-gross, half-wise insight on life, Daichi explains. With everyone he’s (however briefly) dated, they’ve always just ended up as friends. They were, apparently, only ever friends from the start. There was never anything extra there. Daichi cares about the people in his life deeply, so “when do you cross the line from friend to something more?”

Suga answers immediately, “when you want to put your mouth on their mouth.”

When pressed, his friend elaborates. “For me, it’s when there’s something else there that just, I don’t know, makes me want to spend all my extra time with that person, to be super open with them all the time and share way too much and, honestly, be way too extra about how I feel.”

“And that’s different from normal you, how?”

“Oh shut up, you asked.”

They joke, like best friends do, but inside Daichi’s mind is already trying on different names for the feeling in his chest that’s been threatening to burst out all day and one, one finally fits.

He checks the time. It’s after dinner, but still early enough. It’s dark, but no one’s gone to bed except for his youngest sister. It’s still late enough that Daichi wonders if an unexpected visit is too much, too weird, but he knows that if he doesn’t go right now, he’s going to sleep on it and lose all his nerve.

He tells Suga he’s gotta go, grabs his coat, shoves his feet into boots, and walks towards Tsukishima’s house.

***

Tsukishima answers the door. His hair is tousled and fluffy like it’s air-dried after a shower and he’s wearing a big sweatshirt that swallows his whole torso. In a few seconds his expression runs the spectrum from utter shock to confusion.

His mother’s head appears behind him and he jumps, stepping forward in his slippers and shutting the door behind him.

“Daichi, what are you doing here?”

He loses all the words he stored up on the way over here, his mouth hanging open with the sounds choked back in his throat.

Until Tsukishima smiles weakly and Daichi catches the softer side of all that determination he saw earlier - hope.

Daichi plants his feet firmly, stands up straighter, and looks him in the eyes, his hands balled into sweaty fists at his sides. “I know I’m months too late. I’m slow, but I’m steady. I get where I need to go, but it takes time. I’m not good at thinking about myself because I spend so much time thinking about others, but I put off thinking about you, and I’m sorry. I know all this might not be good enough and maybe I’ve messed up too much, but I--”

Tsukishima steps closer until his face is only inches away.

Daichi swallows, finding the strength to say what he needs to, even when the smell of Tsukishima’s shampoo and the feeling of him so near is making his head spin. “I like you, too.”

Daichi gets a reaction more perfect than he could have imagined. Tsukishima smiles.

That happy feeling bubbling up in his chest threatens to spill out of him at the sight. Then, because today is apparently a day of perfectly wonderful things, Tsukishima starts leaning in, eyes closed, and presses their lips together.

Daichi knows his lips are dry and chapped from the cold walk over here, but the feeling is soft all the same. They’ve mismatched their angles and it takes a few tries, but when they fit together just right, Daichi sighs against him. He’s warm and content, his nerves alight from head to toe, and he couldn’t ever have imagined a simple kiss could make him feel like this.

But he wishes he could just focus on the feeling of Tsukishima’s warm breath against his lips instead of also remembering Suga’s voice saying, “when you want to put your mouth on their mouth.” Even though he definitely does want to continue putting his mouth on Tsukishima's mouth. For the whole night, if possible, but of course it's not. They need air and, eventually, to go home and go to sleep, but he doesn't want this to end.

When they part, Tsukishima’s serious expression sets in again, but there’s a lightness behind it. He smiles softly and says, “For the record, I still like you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing fluff is so good for the soul! (*^ω^*)  
> Thanks for reading! I'll see you all tomorrow for part 3.


	3. valentine's letters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 3: Valentine's letters (+ I also grabbed one of yesterday's prompts, Valentine's chocolates, and used it, too)

A few hours ago, the thought of making Tsukishima chocolates for Valentine’s day seemed like a good idea. Daichi tackled the task with his usual mixture of determination and foolhardy confidence.

His confidence was misplaced.

This was way harder than he anticipated.

And yes, probably a big part of that is the fact that he doesn’t exactly have the best tools. He fashioned a double broiler out of two pots, but they were both quite old and not as non-stick as they used to be. Oh, and it turns out burnt chocolate smells terrible. He only hopes he manages to waft out the smell before his brothers and sisters get home. He’s not sure he’s in the mood to handle their particular brand of ridicule.

Even after managing to melt the chocolate, the little shaped chocolates didn’t simply “slip out” of the mold he bought like the packaging advertised. More like fell out as broken, mushy pieces.

A disaster.

So, one more trip to the store later, he’s trying again, but this time he’s dipping strawberries.

With the proper tools in hand, his second attempt goes much better. They’re still messy and the kitchen is, well, it’s going to take him a while to return it to its former glory, but the strawberries skirt that line between homemade-looking and edible-looking, and he thinks he’s found a good enough balance for his first try.

Tsukishima loves strawberries. He knew that about him before, but over the past week, since the well, the kiss outside of his house, he’s learned a few more fun and deeply adorable things about him.

It’s nice.

And if his shoulders have finally untensed for the first time since he started his first term at university, then that’s just a wonderful side-effect.

Plus it means he’s feeling at-ease enough to finish the second part of his Valentine’s Day gift: a confession letter of his own. Tsukishima might already know how he feels, but there’s something about a letter that just means more, especially if his own reaction to Tsukishima’s letter is any indication.

After all these months, Tsukishima deserves a letter, too.

***

He texted Tsukishima earlier to let him know he was coming over and, because of the date, Tsukishima’s quick to answer the door and dart outside, well beyond his parents’ curious eyes.

They have proper plans for tomorrow, set aside for a day when Tsukishima didn’t have practice, when they could get on a train and get out of the same, small town where they spend all their time. Daichi’s going to show him some of his favorite spots around his university and take him out for lunch. Dinner, too. A whole day together. Daichi’s nervous, but that good kind of nervous, the kind that makes him smile so hard his face hurts.

He’s still smiling too hard when Tsukishima steps outside and shuts the door behind him.

“So, what’s the ‘big surprise?’” He asks, a smirk on his lips but a glimmer in his eyes. Just like he was that night of their first kiss, he’s dressed in soft lounging clothes, looking every bit the part of a living blanket. His hair is loose and curlier than usual. Daichi wants to hug him much too hard, but first, chocolates.

“I made you something.” Daichi holds out the cute bento box he dug out of the back of his pantry. It’s red and pink, covered in hearts, and definitely belongs to one of his sisters, but it suited the holiday. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Tsukishima’s slow to hold out his hands to take it, his expression shifting from amusement to a small smile and, Daichi’s going to have a meltdown, a blush spreading across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose.

“Should I -- do you want -- Should I open it now?”

Daichi’s pleased that, for once, Tsukishima seems a bit more on the nervous side. It’s been a nice shift between them. Now that everything’s out in the open, on both sides, the mutual vulnerability and the promise of possibilities to come seems to have changed Tsukishima - for the better.

Daichi nods excitedly.

Quietly and carefully, Tsukishima unwraps the bento box from the cloth. It’s a little awkward, trying to hold everything and not drop it, but he manages. When he pulls off the lid, his grin stretches wider. “You made me chocolate dipped strawberries for Valentine’s Day?”

For the briefest moment, Daichi’s not sure how to read his reaction. He’s still learning Tsukishima and wonders if he’s happy or if, maybe, Daichi went a little overboard. There are, after all, a lot of strawberries in that box and maybe’s it’s too much, too soon.

But then, holding the box against his body to keep it stable,Tsukishima reaches in a grabs a small one. The look on his face when he bites down tells Daichi everything he wanted to know.

He did well.

“They’re good,” Tsukishima says simply.

Daichi can feel the dopey grin forming on his face. “I’m glad. I learned today that I don’t have a future as a chocolatier, but I’m happy they taste good.”

“You want one?” Tsukishima offers the box.

They end up sitting together on Tsukishima’s front step. It’s freezing and Tsukishima is pressed alongside him for warmth. And probably more than warmth, Daichi tells himself as the happy feeling blooming in his chest threatens to burst out. Their legs and arms are aligned, half the box resting on each of their legs.

In soft voices, they chat about their days. Tsukishima has a few updates from today’s practice that make Daichi laugh. Then Daichi admits that he skipped his afternoon classes to make chocolate and Tsukishima serves him a judgemental side-eye.

“What? I did it to make something for you.”

“Mmm,” Tsukishima hums, “don’t blame me when your grades slip.”

Daichi doesn’t know when he decided to love Tsukishima’s smirk, but it hits him just right every time. “They won’t,” he replies, biting the tip off another strawberry.

“Of course not. You aren’t one to do anything less than your best.”

And that’s something else new - the times when Tsukishima admits in his own way the things he’s, apparently, long since admired about Daichi.

The warmth in his chest finally overflows. “That’s not the only thing I did for you today.”

Tsukishima’s head turns and his lips are so close. There’s a fleck of chocolate at the corner and Daichi feels a flash of wanting to lick it off. Instead, he slowly raises his hand and uses his thumb to gently wipe it away. Beside him, Tsukishima inhales sharply at the touch and Daichi lets himself grow hopeful about what could grow between them in the weeks to come.

From his pocket, he pulls out a letter. He wrote it in one draft. Before he started, he thought he’d need far more, but when he looked at his neat handwriting on the soft, off-white paper, the words immediately felt right. 

He slips it onto Tsukishima’s leg where it rests on his knee. “I wrote you a letter. My own confession letter.”

“Little late for that,” Tsukishima jokes, but his voice is soft, quiet.

“I know, but I wanted to.”

Tsukishima’s chocolatey fingers start to reach to open it, but Daichi stops him. “No, not yet. Please. I don’t think I could bare the embarrassment from having you read it in front of me. Save it for later, okay?”

Tsukishima nods. He moves the box so it’s resting beside him on the stairs and sets the letter on top of it. 

Daichi’s heart starts beating faster, suddenly so much more aware of every point along his body where they’re touching.

Daichi watches his head turn until they’re eye-to-eye, Tsukishima’s sweet breath falling in quick puffs on his skin. “Happy Valentine’s Day,” he whispers, leaning in closer, eyes already half-lidded.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” Daichi whispers back, closing his own eyes and letting the inevitable pull between them take over.

***

He gets a text from Tsukishima before he’s even made it back to his house.

Tsukishima>> This letter is a collection of the sweetest things anyone has ever said to me.  
Tsukishima>> I can’t even talk to you right now.  
Tsukishima>> How are you real?  
Tsukishima>> What have you done to me?

Daichi laughs as the texts flow in. He starts to compose his own, but Tsukishima’s apparently not done yet.

Tsukishima>> I’m looking forward to tomorrow.

He erases everything he had before, some long message about how Tsukishima deserves it, and he keeps it simple.

<< I am, too.

***

_I have spent the past few months trying to figure out my feelings towards you. I wish I hadn’t taken so long. The past week has been the best I’ve had in a while._

_I also like you as more than a teammate and a friend. I also care about you deeply._

_But it didn’t happen all at once. When I first met you, I didn’t know what to think. The more I got to know you, the more I liked, but the more confused I got, too. You’re apathetic, but also passionate. You’re sarcastic, but secretly kind. You’re clever. (There’s no other part to that, you’re just devastatingly clever.) You keep to yourself, but you’re a loyal friend._

_When you told me how you felt, you managed to surprise me again. Every time I think I have you figured out, there’s something new to learn._

_I spent the last few months slowly getting to learn more about you. This past week I’ve learned even more. I cannot wait to learn everything about you._

_You’re very special, Tsukishima, and I’m surprised you think I’m special, too._

_Nothing makes me feel more special than when you smile at me._

_I’m looking forward to what the future has in store for us. It’s going to be great._

_(And, for the record, I still like you very much.)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FLUFF! (ﾉ＾◡＾)ﾉ︵ ┻━┻  
> I hope you all enjoyed reading this fic this weekend (or whenever you're reading it). It was my first time writing Daichi in a long time AND my first time writing this ship, and it was quite fun.
> 
> Thank you for reading! (๑°꒵°๑)･*♡

**Author's Note:**

> Yay for Daichi Love Fest! Daichi is a Very Good Boi and deserves all the love. (So does Tsukishima.)  
> I hope you enjoy the story as it develops over the weekend.  
> Happy Valentine's Day! ٩(♡ε♡ )۶
> 
> Kudos, comments, and bookmarks never fail to make me smile (and I always reply to comments!).
> 
> Chat with me on Twitter - [@HeyMellieJellie](https://twitter.com/HeyMellieJellie).


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